rust-lang / rust-lang/rust

negative impl may overlap with the builtin trait object impl

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A-coherence A-dyn-trait C-bug F-negative_impls F-with_negative_coherence I-unsound requires-nightly T-types
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

this is bug 6 found by @carlini on zulip https://rust-lang.zulipchat.com/#narrow/channel/364551-t-types.2Ftrait-system-refactor/topic/Reporting.20a.20collection.20of.20soundness.20bugs.20in.20next-solver/near/617737400

Here's the LLM generated unsoundness reproducer:

// Negative coherence lets two overlapping impls of `Choose` for `dyn Obj<T>`
// coexist: it negates one impl's where-clause to `dyn Obj<!p>: !Has<Option<u8>>`
// and proves it via the blanket negative impl, even though the positive goal holds
// at `p = u8` via the object candidate. The old solver still rejects at the call
// site (`dyn Obj<u8>: Choose` is ambiguous); -Znext-solver accepts and the two
// impls disagree on `Out`, which lets `bad` extend a borrow to `'a` (use-after-free).
#![forbid(unsafe_code)]
#![feature(negative_impls, with_negative_coherence)] // needed: without them the impls are rejected as overlapping (E0119)

trait Has<T> {}
impl<X: ?Sized, T> !Has<T> for X {} // needed: this is what coherence uses to "prove" disjointness; `?Sized` so it covers `dyn Obj<_>`

// `dyn Obj<u8>: Has<u8>` and `dyn Obj<u8>: Has<Option<u8>>` both hold via the object candidate.
trait Obj<T>: Has<T> + Has<Option<T>> {}

trait Choose<'a, 'b> {
    type Out;
}
impl<'a, 'b, T> Choose<'a, 'b> for dyn Obj<T>
where
    dyn Obj<T>: Has<u8>,
{
    type Out = &'a str;
}
impl<'a, 'b, T> Choose<'a, 'b> for dyn Obj<T>
where
    dyn Obj<T>: Has<Option<u8>>,
{
    type Out = &'b str;
}

// Only the first impl applies here: Out == &'a str.
fn out_is_a<'a, 'b, T>(x: <dyn Obj<T> as Choose<'a, 'b>>::Out) -> &'a str
where
    dyn Obj<T>: Has<u8>,
{
    x
}
// Only the second impl applies here: Out == &'b str.
fn out_is_b<'a, 'b, T>(x: &'b str) -> <dyn Obj<T> as Choose<'a, 'b>>::Out
where
    dyn Obj<T>: Has<Option<u8>>,
{
    x
}

// needed: the trait-only where-clause keeps `Out` rigid, so the two calls compose unnormalized.
fn bad<'a, 'b>(x: &'b str) -> &'a str
where
    dyn Obj<u8>: Choose<'a, 'b>,
{
    out_is_a::<u8>(out_is_b::<u8>(x))
}

fn main() {
    let dangling;
    {
        let s = String::from("Hello World");
        dangling = bad(&s);
    }
    println!("{dangling}"); // use-after-free: prints garbage
}

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by compiling the provided reproducer with -Znext-solver and compare its behavior with the old solver, focusing on negative coherence, the builtin trait-object candidate, and the two overlapping Choose impls. Minimize the example if useful; done means the compiler rejects the overlap or no longer accepts the program that produces the dangling reference.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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